Kovind, Modi mourn Somnath Chatterjee's demise

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday mourned the death of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

"Sorry to hear of the passing of Somnath Chatterjee, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a veteran parliamentarian who had a forceful presence in the House.

"A loss for public life in Bengal and India. My condolences to his family and innumerable well-wishers," the President said in a tweet.

The Prime Minister described Chatterjee as a stalwart of Indian politics who made the parliamentary democracy richer.

Modi tweeted that Chatterjee "was a strong voice for the well-being of the poor and vulnerable. Anguished by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and supporters".

The 10-time parliamentarian died at 8.15 a.m., at the Bellevue Clinic in Kolkata following a cardiac arrest and prolonged age-related ailments.

He suffered the heart attack on Sunday. Following kidney-related ailment his condition was critical and he was admitted to the clinic on August 7.

After the nursing home announced Chatterjee's death, condolences started pouring in.

Earlier Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also mourned the former Left leader in their tweets.

--IANS

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